oldguy1957's Duplicate the Rally Car Budget Rider

Your brother-in-law, Pete, has just started a new career as a Rally
Race car driver. He bought a Rally car, but then went on a short vacation. He
decided to leave his car with YOU. You promised not to touch it, but couldn’t
resist taking if for a little spin on the back-roads near your home. Unfortunately,
on your little joy-ride, you wrapped his car around a tree, totally destroying
it, except for the wheels.

By coincidence, your family car is the same make and model. You run to
the bank and take out a second mortgage on your house and come home with $50,000
(credits). Then you go to work.

So here’s the rules:

1. Pick an unmodded Rally car from your garage (or buy a new one if you
so choose). Run it around the ring. Do any tweaking you want. Get your
best time with it which will be used as a target time.
2. Find a production car (in your garage, or buy one) that is as close
as you can find to the production model of the Rally car you chose. It doesn’t
have to be the exact year or model. Same make and body style is good enough
(Pete’s not very smart as long as the car looks the same, he won’t notice it’s not
the original).
3. Not counting the price of the car or the R1’s (the tyres survived
the crash) you have 50,000 credits to get your family car to equal your target
time on the ‘Ring’. You, of course will have to buy the tyres, but they won’t be
counted against the budget. As far as I know, all Rally cars come on R1’s. If
you find one that comes on something else, just be sure you buy the same tyres
for your family car.
4. No Supercharges. No Nitrous. Other than that, go nuts and do
whatever you want.
5. Use, or don’t use driving aids, as you choose. But you must use the
same ASM and TCS settings on both cars.

Now, the objective for this is not so much to make a family car that
can kick the butt of it’s Rally model, but instead, to find the most
family-car-ish car that can equal the performance of it’s Rally Car equivalent, using only 50,000 cr.

Mr. Pinstripes Foot in Mouth Budget Rider

I was a bit rushed typing up the intro for the BR (stupid work), so it
wasn't as clear as I'd have liked it to be. Here is a better breakdown of how it
should work.

"One foot [in your mouth], and one on the gas! (Mk II)"

Step 1: Put your foot in your mouth! Predict just how fast you think
you can tear around the 'Ring with 100,000 Cr. Make the most ridiculous boast
you think you might actually be able to pull off. Don't check a car's power
first, don't test run cars first; just open your yap, then deal with the
consequences.

Step 2: Purchase and tuning. Snag a new car (classics are fine, but no
used ones), then tune it into a monster. No nitrous allowed, but all other
upgrades (including racing tires) are fine.

Step 3: Put the hammer down! Self-explanatory. If your first car
doesn't make it, feel free to try another (as time allows, of course).

Whoever comes closest to their target time (either under or over) is
the winner. They win nothing.

My focus for this BR is threefold

1- A way to push our own limits.
2- A way to expand our car/tuning knowledge.
3- A way to have a competition that's totally independent of driver
skill.

jwrebholz's Filling the Stable Budget Rider

I guess since nobody's mentioned a BR yet, I'll go ahead and tell you
mine.

For this week's BR, the budget is generous--125,000Cr, and 75,000Cr for
parts. However there's a catch. You will not be buying one car. You will be
buying FOUR cars. Call this BR "Filling the Stable". Since variety is the spice of
life (and to keep you clowns from just buying the same car four times) you must
fill the following requirements.
1. One car must be new (and by new I mean no classics.)
2. One car must be less than 10,000 Cr purchase price.
3. One car must be FF.
4. These must not be the same car.
5. NO car may have less than 100 horsepower stock.

You can do anything you want to the cars. Also, today you got a flyer
in the mail. Ordinarily you toss these things out, but the line at the top
caught your eye. "GT SPEED SHOP BLOWOUT SALE!!!!" You read on to see that your
local performance shop is dumping all its low-level upgrade items at cut-rate
prices, parts for all vehicles are on sale.

SP exhaust, SP suspension, S1 weight reduction, NA Tune 1, Turbo 1, SP
intercooler, CL trans, SP clutch, SP flywheel, all differentials
(except custom) and R1 tires are on sale this week only at 50% off!. They're also
throwing in a free oil change with any purchase and a free Rigidity Refresh with any
purchase of 15,000Cr or more (per car, after discounts). All other components
are 25% off except for NA tune 3, Turbo 4, nitrous oxide and S3 weight reduction.
It's for this week only, so go clean house!

sackedagain's Miata Club Budget Rider

At the end of ‘70s, the roadster was dead in the United States. You
might see an MG or a TR7, but usually on blocks in someone’s driveway. These days,
you see roadsters everywhere—Z3s, TTs, Boxters. What happened?

In 1979, journalist Bob Hall begged Kenichi Yamamoto at Mazda to build
a roadster. Hall ended up changing careers. Over the next 10 years, at
Mazda Automotive North America in California, he was part of the team that
developed the MX-5 under Toshihiko Hirai.

In the US, the car has always been called the Miata. "Miata" is from
Old High German and means “reward.” In Japan, the car was called the Eunos to
avoid confusion with the bicycle company, Miyata. In Europe, I’m told that it
has always been an MX-5.

From 1989 to 1997, Mazda was scared to make major changes to the car.
It had had tremendous sales and enormous support from Miata clubs across the
world. Mazda upped the horse power in 1994, replacing the 1.6 with a 1.8 engine. But
that only compensated for extra weight.

After the 1997 model, Mazda finally retooled, with input from club
members. The second generation Miata carried on the look and feel of the original
roadster. The quickest difference to spot is the headlights. The first generation
had pop-ups, but by 1998 Mazda was able to use a smaller headlight to
achieve the same illumination. The badging also changed, with the new Mazda logo.

The third generation has stepped away from tradition. RX-8 fenders,
roomier interior. But enough said. Oh wait there is one more thing, ugghhh.

GT4 has nine models from the first and second generation. Forget the
second generation for now. For this BR, you have your pick of five cars, all
1st gen Miatas. You’ll need oil and a Viagra to restore the car to original
specs. Don’t tune it any further.

Now, I agree, it is a nice secretary’s car. But trust me, or check out
a Miata spec race sometime, the car is a riot to drive. Great handling with
50-50 weight distribution and has one of the best gear boxes ever made.

In GT4, the Ring replaces Mazda’s original test track: The Pacific
Coast Highway. Keep your revs high and avoid braking. For grippers, this is a
very forgiving drifter. Momentum at work. If you miss Bergwerk or Ex-Muhle
or Dottinger Hohe, all corners leading into hills, there is no recovery.
Your lap time may be off by 5 to 10 seconds.

You’ll find these cars in the used car and historic lots:

1. The original MX-5 from 1989. Steel wheels, 118 HP/6500 rpm and
torque at 100.97/5500. There is a god-awful blue that I wish I hadn’t bought.
Look for the silver.

2. The J-Limited from 1991. Who knows J-limited means? I’m assuming
it’s a Japanese model. All the cars are right-hand drive. Mazda always
releases a couple editions. In 1991, Mazda released a special edition but it was
available only in British Racing Green and that car is not in GT4. I do think the
GT4 car has the alloy wheels option available in 1991. Same engine and weight
as the 1989 model.

3. The J-Limited II from 1993. The weight grows to 980 kg and 1.6 is
replaced with the 1.8 engine. Oiled and refreshed, the car gets 130 hp at 6500
rpms. Torque is also up to 115.35 at a lower 4500 rpms. The redline moves
from 7500 to 7000 rpms. In 1993, the Limited Edition released in the states were
“Brilliant Black” with a red interior. They came with BBS wheels, Nardi shifters,
Bilstein shocks, a spoiler and a rear lower skirt. Only 1,500 sold here. That
car would be a real find.

4. VR-Limited from 1995. This car has a mixed interior, tan seats in a
black cockpit. Other than that, seems very much like the 1993 model.

5. And finally, the 1997 SR-Limited. I don’t see any major changes in
the GT4 1997 model.

I look forward to your reports and observations.

Soulidarity's The Nurburgring Diary Zone Budget Rider

The Nurburgring Diary Zone

You wake up to find that you've survived a plane crash unscathed, but the crew and the rest of the passengers are nowhere to be found. In your lap is a stack of 40,000 dollars/euros/credits. You exit the plane and look around, discovering that you are in a small German town outside of the famed Nurburgring Nordschleife. But something is seriously wrong. There are no people. You enter a cafe to look around, only finding more of the same, when you hear a car pull up out front. Rushing outside you find a mysterious man getting out of his Toyota Altezza Touring Car. He explains to you that you've slipped into a dead space in time during the crash, and offers you a one shot deal to get back to your own time. He will drive his touring car for one lap around the ring, then you will drive the production car of your choice with all the modifications you can afford. If you beat him, he'll allow your return home. He then hands you a non-descript key, and tells you to decide what car you wish to drive and take a look around the corner, where you'll find said car in new condition.

So here's the challenge:

Run a lap with the Altezza Touring car. You can do it in B spec if you wish, but I strongly encourage you take the role of the mystery man and drive it A spec to challenge yourself. Then take your own production vehicle, use 40,000 to modify it, and attempt to beat the Altezza's time.

The conditions:

The car you choose is free.

There is a limit on horsepower in this dead space in time, and no car can exist over 360 HP. This means that you can not use a car that starts with more than 360 HP, nor can you modify a car beyond that point.

Driving aids also do not exist here. I know that most, if not all of us, regularly turn aids off, but for anyone who does not necessarily do this, you must do it for this challenge.

Since your car of choice comes in new condition, oil change, car wash, and rigidity refresher are free. You can also put wheels on your car for free if you wish.

You weigh something, so you must add driver ballast to your vehicle. If you don't currently do this, and you're not sure how much you weigh in kg, you can use the following website for a quick conversion:

http://www.manuelsweb.com/kg_lbs.htm

If you crash into the armco, you must use your better judgement as to whether or not it has ended your run. Obviously if you run headfirst into the armco at 130, you die, and never make it home. If you lightly brush the armco, you can decide for yourself whether or not the damage is extensive enough to keep you from continuing. Driving off into the grass is ok, but grass cuts are not. If you cut across grass with the intention of gaining time, the mystery man will know, and he'll be long gone when you pull across the finish line, leaving you stranded here forever.

Have fun!

jwrehholz's Happy Thanksgiving Budget Rider

The Happy Thanksgiving BR!

Your catering service has landed a huge contract--thanksgiving dinner for a major company. Three huge turkeys and all the fixings are being carefully and lovingly prepared by Chef Boris, a man known for both his fine cuisine and his ridiculous temper. He's also known for his non-punctuality, and as you sit waiting on delivery-day, Chef Boris is taking his sweet time with the meal. Finally, it's ready--all 100 kilos of food. There is, of course, one small problem--you've got to haul it across town, and FAST. You know from past experience with jobs like this that it'll take you and your team at least 20 minutes to get everything set up--and the dinner is set to start in half an hour. Time to drop the hammer.

Oh yeah, and one other thing--Wreck this meal and you answer to Boris.

Conditions:
Vehicle MUST be a station wagon or van.
100 kg of ballast must be placed over the rear axle (as close as you can manage..figure halfway from center to rear)
The car must be street legal (N tires only, no exhaust modifications, no weight reduction, no nitrous)
You go off-track--even dropping ONE wheel--and dinner is ruined.

sackedagain's Ring Race Challenge 1

Ring Race Challenge I

In the five 'Ring races listed below, get as many A-Spec points as you can. Since you pick the car to use in each race, you set the bar as high or low as you want.

These are the rules:

a. Only one try at each race. No practicing. If you don't like the line-up or the A-Spec points, quit before the bell rings. Then find a new car or line-up. Once the bell sounds, your choice of car is official. Finish the race.

b. If qualifying is permitted, you may qualify only for position. You cannot change cars or modify the car once you have started qualifying.

c. Do not race your potential car in other races in the series to check its performance. Your choice will be based on the line-up against you and the A-Spec points available.


Report back with results. I'm hoping we hear some good race stories and learn something along the way. Friendly competition, as always.

Here are the five series with Ring races that I've picked for this challenge:

1. Professional Events--World Classics
2. Manufacturers Events--Club M
3. European Events--Europe Classic Car League
4. European Events--Pan Euro Championship
5. Extreme Events--GT All Stars

WanderingMuse22's Crazy Uncle's One Lap Magic Budget Rider

You've a crazy rich uncle that lives in Germany, and he's invited you to come visit for a holiday. Having heard of your affinity for driving, and living so close to the Nurburgring Nordshcliefe, he's granting you one lap in the exotic car of your choosing.

There's a catch. He knows how dangerous the Nordschliefe is. If you hurt the car you choose, you have to work off the price of the car in his family business- not pleasant since the duties would involve a shovel and a gas mask.

He has a jealous nitwit son that won't like his offer (B Spec Bob). Your lap time must be quicker than his "fast" (4) effort. However, if you can give your uncle a better lap time than his nitwit son, and also present him with a spotless car, you get to keep it, and also receive a cash inheritance equal to the value of the car.

So here's the deal- you must spend at least 100,000 (but no more than 1,000,000) cr on the car. It must be a new production car that money can buy, and you must use N3 tires. You get a 500cr budget for modifications, but you may only spend it on rims. Any country is fine.

Once you've chosen the car, let Cousin (B-Spec) Bob have a lap at setting 4. Then, take your turn.

If you hit the Armco, even once, even only a little, the BR is over. Feel free to post the sale price of the car, as that will help cut down on the amount of shoveling owed.

If you run a clean lap, and beat the nitwit, you win. Feel free to post your lap time. It's that easy. Or is it?

The idea is credited to sackedagain's comments about how terrible we'd be as test drivers, since we don't have to regard our physical safety nor the value of the merchandise we're driving.

Mr. Pinstripes' Phenomenal Cosmic Power Budget Rider

Here is the rule (yes, only one):

30 hp limit.

Go out, grab a riding lawnmower, and feel free to slap as much aftermarket stuff in as you want (it'll make this a bit more tolerable). I'd suggest the Subaru 360 or the Fiat 500 series, as both are nigh-uncontrollable monsters (albeit baby monsters, but still nigh-uncontrollable), and will keep your attention for most of the lap.

Flibutz's Budget Ricer Budget Rider

Budget Ricer™

For this BR™ you will assume the role of a german jap car enthusiast. Your car club has a meeting coming up, and it includes a trip to Nordschleife. Time to mod your lemon!

For this challenge, you are limited to japanese cars. Your car budget is 23,000cr if you buy a new/legendary car, and 13,000 if you get a used one. Rigidity refreshers are free. 22,500 for upgrades. Any leftover from car budget can be used to buy upgrades, but not the other way around.

This car is your daily driver, so you are limited to N tyres. Weight reduction is not recommended.
NOS is allowed. In fact it officially makes you cool.

Some Budget Riders

Beat the M5

Buy and run a BMW M5 for a lap on the ring, then, for the cost of a new M5, buy and modify the vehicle of your choice to beat your time in the M5. Budget: The dealership sell value of a new BMW M5

Soulidarity's Volkswagen AG Challenge

75,000 to buy and modify any vehicle falling under the Volkswagen banner. This included Audi, VW, and Seat. The HPA Motorsport tuner Golf was excluded. Budget: 75,000

Racecar Rider (RR) list

RE Amemiya AMEMIYA ASPARADRINK RX7 (JGTC) '04
BMW 320i Touring Car '03
Chevrolet Corvette C5R (C5) '00 (Amarynceus)
Audi Abt TT-R Touring Car '02
Chapparal 2J Racecar '70
Toyota SUPERAUTOBACS APEX MR-S '00 (Amarynceus)
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C2) Race Car '63
Ford GT40 Race Car '69
Lancia Delta S4 Rally Car '85
Honda S800 RSC Race Car '68 (Mr. Pinstripes)
Jaguar XJR-9 Race Car '88
Subaru Impreza Super Touring Car (Soulidarity)
Chaparral 2D Race Car (Amarynceus)
Suzuki GSX Concept (oldguy1957)
Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04 (Flibutz)
Ford Falcon XR8 '00 (Soulidarity)
Team Oreca Dodge Viper (ciscrack)
BMW M3 GTR Race Car (Xitrogezi)
AMG Mercedes CLK GTR Racecar '98 (viperinthegrass) 1/25/06
Ford RS 200 Rally Car (Flibutz) 2/15/06
Nissan Falken GT - R RaceCar '04 (tremor)
Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 rally car (ciscrack)
Toyota Minolta 88C - V Race Car '89 (lucky21s)
Playstation Pescarolo C60 (Soulidarity)
Pagani Zonda LM Race car (lucky21s) 5/9/06
Lancia Stratos Rally Car (lucky21s) 7/7/06
'87 MOTUL Civic (Soulidarity) 7/18/06
Suzuki dirt trial car (lucky21s) 11/1/06
Triathlon Racecar (Slyp_Dawg) 11/15/06
RENAULT 5 Maxi Turbo Rally Car '85 (Slyp_Dawg) 11/15/06
Mazda 787B (viperinthegrass?) 2/26/07

Weekend Rider (WR) list

Lancia Stratos '73
Aston Martin DB9 '03
BMW M5 '05
Holden Manaro CV8 '04
BMW Z4 '03
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray L46 350 (C3) '69
Renault Clio Sport V6
Ford F150 Lightning
Jaguar S-Type R '02
RUF BTR '86
NISMO Fairlady Z S-tune concept '02
Lotus Esprit Turbo HC '87
Chrysler 300C '05
Seat Ibiza Cupra '04 (Mr. Pinstripes)
Jaguar E-Type Coupe '61 (Bruudlinho)
Audi TT 3.2 '03
Hommel Berlinette R/S '99
Ford GT '05
Mazda 110S (L10B) '68 (Mr. Pinstripes)
Audi Quattro '82
Cadillac Cien '02
Nissan 350Z Gran Turismo 4 Limited Edition (Z33) '05
AC 427 S/C '66 (Amarynceus)
Spyker C8 Laviolette '01
Caterham Seven Fire Blade '02 (Flibutz)
Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32) '89 (viperinthegrass)
Mazda6 5-door '03
Buick Special '62
Opel Speedster Turbo '00 (viperinthegrass)
Proto Motors Spirra 4.6 V8 '04 (Flibutz)
Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 V-Spec II Nur '02 (Onikaze)
MG TF160 '03 (sackedagain)
HPA Motorsports Stage II R32 '04 (sackedagain)
TVR Griffith 500 '94 (Mr. Pinstripes)
Cizeta V16T '94 (Soulidarity)
Plymouth Super Bird '70 (ciscrack)
Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z Concept '88 (WanderingMuse22)
Alpine A110 1600S '73 (Mr. Pinstripes)
Nissan Fairlady Z 280Z-L 2Seater (S130) '78 (Soulidarity)
Pagani Zonda C12 '00 (Flibutz)
Mazda RX-7 Type RZ (FD, J) '92-'96 (oldguy1957)
DMC DeLorean '04 (bruudlinho)
BMW 2002 Turbo (wanderingmuse22)
Toyota Celica XX 2800GT ‘81 (sidewinderl) 1/20/06
Alfa Romeo 147 GTA '02 (Soulidarity) 1/27/06
Callaway C12 '03 (viperinthegrass) 2/2/06
Ford RS200 '84 (ciscrack) 2/10/06
Tommy kaira ZZ-S 2000 (Soulidarity) 2/17/06
Mercedes 300SL '54 (wanderingmuse22) 2/24/06
Dodge Viper SRT 10 '03 (viperinthegrass) 3/306
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (C2) '63 (MrPinstripes) 3/1106
Eagle Talon ES i '97 (viperinthegrass) 3/24/06
Aston Martin Vanquish '04 (viperinthegrass) 4/28/06
Shelby Mustang G.T. 350R '65 (omicronpersei8) 5/5/06
Honda NSX-R '02 (Amarynceus) 5/12/06
BMW M Series (all) 5/30/06
Lotus Carlton '90 (Amarynceus) 6/9/06
Buick GNX '87 (RanBinRai) 6/16/06
AUDI Le Mans Quattro '03 (oldguy1957) 6/23/06
Acura DN-X '02 (ciscrack) 6/29/06
TVR 350c (Soulidarity) 7/7/06
Hyundai HDCD6 ‘01 (viperinthegrass) 7/14/06
Aston Martin V8 Vantage '99 (sidewinderl) 7/21/06
Spoon S2000 (OmicronPersei8) 7/28/06
ALFA ROMEO Giulia Sprint GTA 1600 '65 (ciscrack) 8/5/06
Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe `04 (Aroundthering) 8/11/06
Lotus Elan S1 1962 (viperinthegrass) 9/15/06
Mercedes Benz SL65 AMG (wanderingmuse22) 10/14/06
TVR Cerbera Speed 12 (Mr. Pinstripes) 1/18/07
Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT Apex SS version ( Shuichi Shigeno) 2000 (viperinthegrass) 4/21/07

Welcome to the GT4 'ring diaries archives

Ok, ringers, I decided that it was long overdue that we have some sort of archives of our numerous challenges, so I put this up to achieve that end. Here you'll find a mostly complete list of all WR's and RR's to date. I will also be compiling as complete a list of past BR's as possible, though many will likely be forever lost, and many more will lack the details that really made these unique challenges so fun. I will be keeping all current BRs in their original full form to preserve their intent.

If you've stumbled across this blog by accident, but happen to be a Gran Turismo 4 fan, I suggest you check out the GT4 message board at www.gamefaqs.com, and find a topic entitled "The Nurburgring Diaries: Volume ...". If it seems like your kind of thing, feel free to join in the fun.

~Soulidarity